A Heart With Thorns Is Better Than No Heart At All
by ConfusedColumbia26220
Summary: Graverobber was thought of as filth, a criminal. Blind Mag was considered an object. The chance that the two would find any form of solace within the other is so miniscule that it is laughable. But there is a chance.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own these wonderful characters.**

**AN: A better attempt at a Graverobber-Blind Mag story. Warning, chapter updates may be at uneven intervals and varying lengths.**

Graverobber was thought of as filth, a criminal. Blind Mag was considered an object. GeneCo was the enemy. Designer hearts do beat with common blood, feelings, love. The chance that the two would find any form of solace within the other is so miniscule that it is laughable. But there is a chance.

_ _

Another Zydrate vial filled. That was how Graverobber spent his life. He sucked the substance of Zydrate from the dead. He may sell the stuff, but he could never find reason to take it himself. He knew it was good, better than any drug. His junkie customers found something about it to love. He had never wanted or needed surgery, so in turn didn't need the Zydrate.

Graverobber stashed the vial in the pocket of his jacket. He had enough to last about another week. He would never let the Zydrate be completely used up before gathering more. It wasn't a very strategic business move. Slowly, the man stood and kicked the corpse back into the tomb he'd pulled it from. He headed back to the alleyway, to his home.

Living on the streets wasn't that bad. It was preferable to Graverobber, His identity would be safe and on the down-low to any GeneCo workers. Identity. Identity implied humanity, which Graverobber had spent years trying to prove he didn't have. The alleyway was empty, which suited Graverobber fine. He could actually get some good earned sleep instead of playing dominant to some over willing submissive sex kitten. Graverobber hopped in the dumpster he used for a bed and began his rest.

_ _

Blind Mag acknowledged her audience and took a bow. She had grown beyond tired of her routine. She was simply numb. She would happily pass the spotlight to Amber, who was so eager for fame. If the contract she'd signed to Rotti Largo (GeneCo's founder and father of Amber Sweet) had made it that easy to resign, she would have done so already. She had to continue her work though, that or die. Straightening up, Blind Mag wore a meaningless smile.

She wondered why she had so badly longed for sight. There wasn't much to see. Now that Marni and her daughter were gone, there was almost no sense in seeing. She was much happier in ignorance. Walking off the brightly lit stage, Mag pushed the thoughts from her mind. What was done had been done and there was no undoing it.

Hoping she wouldn't encounter anyone from the Largo family, Mag headed home. She went to her dressing room first to change. She surely owned something that wasn't flashy. After dressing down, Mag continued through the backstage area and out the exit. She chose to walk. She didn't need the driver and bodyguard Rotti always had at hand for her. Funny how the world coveted a life they knew nothing about and wouldn't want.

The night was cool as Mag crunched the fallen leaves beneath her feet. Shivering slightly, Mag pulled her jacket tighter around her. She yawned. Sleep would be great. Always a fine refreshment, but also a great escape. The only way she had to get away from the craziness of GeneCo. A trip to the good times of the twentieth century, when humanity was far from evil. Few compassionate people were left. Yes, there was a far-off place that was left unstained by GeneCo. Mag longed to go there, but it was a foolish fantasy.

How late was it? Hardly anyone was out. At least it was peacefully quiet. There was some good left in the world. Mag smirked as she rounded a corner that lead into an alley. The quiet made her happy. Mag's happiness never lasted for long.

Mag had been shoved against the brick wall suddenly. How had she not heard someone coming? It was so quiet, she should have. Had she only been imagining the silence? Hands were closing around her throat. She could scarcely breathe. "Who are you?" her voice came out a choked whisper.

"Doesn't matter, you whore." Unkind lips met hers. Hands slid to her shoulders. She was nearly lifted, then slammed down to the ground. A startled cry escaped as tears quickly came to her eyes. She was going to be used, again. The unknown man was going to rape her. A hand covered her mouth. "Shut up!" The snarl had a vengeance that frightened her. Her legs were forced open. Mag bit her lip in silence, tears trickling down her cheeks. All she had wanted to do was go home.

A smack to the face and another kiss to drown the cries. Slow, wet licks on the neck. Goosebumps raised on Mag's skin and her spine tingled with the fear of knowing what would happen, but not how it was going to. The man tore at her clothes, ravished her flesh with teeth and tongue. Mag bruised pretty badly. The man was enjoying this, taking his sweet time. He was building up to what would be a sexual climax. For him. He was teasing, terrorizing Mag.

He drew blood biting Mag's neck. When he latched his mouth on and bit a breast, a mighty loud and terrifying scream emitted from Mag's mouth.

Graverobber had been stirred from his sleep by a feminine scream. He sat up in his dumpster bed as he registered the noise. Through the dark he could see two figures on the ground. Rolling his eyes, he laid back down. Just some people having a good time at an ungodly hour. Scarcely had he closed his eyes, he heard another earsplitting screech.

"Please, please – stop!"

It had been so painful; it touched a place deep within Graverobber, close enough to his bulletproof heart that he cared. Just a little bit. Only enough to put the woman back into a good state of mind. Most of it was for himself. He was losing precious sleep, and helping the woman would let him get back to it.

Graverobber hurled himself out of the dumpster. He was a little surprised that they took no notice his presence. Of course, they were preoccupied, so they couldn't be expected to be aware of their surroundings. He approached them. Grabbing the man's collar, he hoisted him off the woman. He sent him crashing against the wall, sliding to his feet.

"Didn't your daddy ever teach you not to disrespect a lady?" He punched him with a great enough force to knock him out. He turned to the woman whose whimpers were simmering down. He offered his hand to help her up. "Welcome to the twenty-first century," he murmured sarcastically.

This earned a laugh from the shaken Mag. "Thank you." She turned to continue on her way home. She started walking away.

That voice had sounded familiar. Graverobber was curious now. He followed after her a couple steps. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "Wait." Mag slowly turned to face him. He gasped. "Blind Mag?" Her eyes were captivating. Much prettier than the magazines showed.

"Yes?"

Graverobber had quenched his curiosity, great. He could go back to sleep. Before he had the chance to turn around, more words spewed from his mouth. "I just wanted to know who it was I saved. Don't you know these parts are not safe, Mag?"

"Nothing is safe." Mag turned to leave again. Another tear escaped. She turned her head back. "Can I know the name of my savior?"

"I go by Graverobber." His voice was cold. He didn't care about her. He saw her tear and it changed nothing. Not only did he not care, but he couldn't. A Graverobber couldn't be soft-hearted; it just didn't work that way. His heart of stone was shining through.

Mag continued off wondering why he'd even bothered saving her. If he was so burdened by her presence, why hadn't he let her be raped? All she had asked for was his name. Why was that such a hard thing to give? She felt cursed for having the compassionate heart that she did.

Once home, Mag found her room and collapsed on the bed. She cried herself asleep knowing there was not one person, not even her savior, that she could talk to.

As Graverobber slept he had unusual dreams. Dreams about himself and Blind Mag. The dreams were sexual. Just the hot bodies of himself and Blind Mag, sweating, moving together. No strings attached, simple lust. The only weird thing about Graverobber's dreams were that they featured Blind Mag. Other than that, very normal.


	2. Chapter 2

Graverobber was awaken by the wail of a Zydrate junkie. Fists pounded into his chest. Graverobber reluctantly cracked his eyes open.

"Graverobber! Graverobber! Hit me with some Z, I need it badly!"

Graverobber rolled his eyes. "Chill." He reached into his pocket to retrieve a vial of Zydrate. He handed it to the desperate female. "Go get cut." The blonde threw a handful of coins at him and scurried off.

Graverobber collected the coins and sat up, his head spinning. Had he really had an encounter with Blind Mag the previous night? If so, had he also had sex with her? Had that just been a dream? Was it all a dream? He considered hitting himself with some Zydrate to get rid of the confusion. Even if it all had happened, it shouldn't matter. Shouldn't be any different than any other sex object.

Graverobber let out a booming scream to rid himself of his thoughts. He didn't want to think on the matter any longer than he already had, which had been way too long. As he hopped from the dumpster, he was grateful not to be touched by the sun's glare. The shadows hid him nicely.

Stalking over to the wall of bricks, Graverobber noticed a man that looked vaguely familiar. He was leaning against the wall with an angry look on his face as if he were waiting for someone. A nasty purple bruise covered almost an entire half of his face. He advanced towards Graverobber.

_Oh, what the hell?_ Thought Graverobber as he took in the man's piercing eyes. He was obviously coming after him. But for what? Before he knew it, his jacket was balled up in the man's fists.

"You prevented me from having a fine piece of ass last night!" His words were dipped in hatred. They came out a growl.

Graverobber twisted out of the man's grasp. "Not all women are just 'a fine piece of ass'!" He swiftly kicked the man, making him lose his footing. He grabbed him and threw him against the wall, harshly smacking his head into it until he drew blood.

True, Graverobber could be angered. He had felt more than anger, though. What he had felt was a passionate hatred. For such a small comment, too. Why had that comment bothered him? He himself often only thought of women as fine pieces of asses. Why then, had he countered with rage that that was not always so? That moment had answered his questions about his dreams, but also rose more challenging ones to answer.

Graverobber walked idly along the alleyway, not thinking as he waited for more customers to show. Had it been nightfall, he would occupy himself by obtaining more Zydrate.

_ _

The holo-communicator on Mag's nightstand beeped. 'Message from Rotti Largo'. Mag didn't want to wake. She sat up begrudgingly and flipped the top of her holo-communicator open. A holograph of Rotti's head appeared as his voice was heard. 'Mag, I am sending a driver. Be ready to be picked up at ten. You must rehearse for tonight's performance.' The holograph faded away. Mag flipped the top down. She stretched and looked at the clock. Nine-thirty, she had some time.

Mag pushed herself out of bed and wandered to her vanity. She began brushing her raven locks. She hummed to herself. She wondered what GeneCo would do if she died of natural causes. The Voice of GeneCo would be gone, they would have to get someone else. _No doubt with an easier way to resign_, the thought should have been bitter, but it wasn't. Mag had been through too much in too little time to bother with negativity.

Her thoughts began to spiral out of control. What if she had died the previous night? What if that awful, wonderful man hadn't been there to save her? Her holographic eyes replayed her memories into the mirror; they bounced back, forcing her to relive them.

Fear, anticipation, and terror washed over her as everything flooded back. She felt the lips, the teeth, the tongue all over again. She felt a pain in her chest while revisiting when the man had bit her breast. Just as she was about to crack, the man was lifted away. Fast forward.

'Don't you know these parts are not safe, Mag?'

"Nothing is safe," Mag stated in sync with her memory. 'Can I know the name of my savior?'

Voice suddenly cold, the man had replied, 'Graverobber.' The holographics flickered away.

Who was that man? That evil knight in armor? Mag sighed. She knew of only one way to find out, should she pursue it. Return to the scene of the attack.

Mag blinked her eyes, shaking her head. That would be a foolish, foolish thing to do. He had made it clear he showed no interest in her. He had cautioned her though, why was that? Mag felt her head begin to pound. She stood up and left the vanity. She needed to continue getting ready before Rotti's driver showed up. He was always displeased with her when she wasn't punctual.

_ _

When Mag arrived at the theater, she was greeted by Pavi, another member of the Largo family. He opened the car door for her and offered his hand.

"A bella diva!" His Italian accented voice always seemed to be cocky yet sincere. "May I-a escort you to you're-a dressing room?"

"Mag took Pavi's hand and offered a gentle smile. "Alright, Pavi."

"A-diva! Why-a you seem so blue?" Pavi asked as he helped Mag from the car.

Had it shown through? She thought she'd been covering up pretty well. She decided to lie, why bother going into detail? It was silly, anyway. "Just thinking of Marni again. I miss her dearly." Marni had been her best childhood friend, and she had died tragically a while back.

As Pavi lead the way he lightly patted her hand. "But-a of course-a you do! You-a two was-a great friends!"

"I can take it from here," Mag said kindly. She slipped her hand from his grasp. "Thank you, Pavi." She lightly kissed his cheek. He was the closest thing she had for a friend. He wasn't nearly as nice as Marni was, but he was second in line. Most people that actually spoke to her treated her like crap.

"It's-a my pleasure." Pavi bowed his head in a gentlemanly manner and walked away.

Mag continued the short few steps that took her to her dressing room. She put on the costume she knew she'd be singing in that night before heading to the stage to rehearse. They used wires on her a lot, but switched up when she'd be getting in and out of them. Rotti was waiting for her.

"Mag, you made it!" He enveloped her in a false hug. He smiled ingenuinely. He had the plans of the performance in mind. He shared his direction and left to sit in the audience seats. He always enjoyed watching her rehearse and perform. He ogled over her beauty as the sweet music of her voice filled his ears. Maybe all that tome he'd had his heart set on Marni he should have been focused on Mag. Of course, before her surgery she was nothing.

_ _

"Has anyone told you how sexy you are, Graverobber?" a nameless junkie whore breathed into his ear.

"Maybe," Graverobber replied, a hint of a growl to his voice.

"Z me again!" Jane Doe panted. "Please, Z me again!"

Graverobber pressed the Zydrate gun to her chest. He squeezed the trigger and Jane Doe hit a state of euphoria.

"Take me, take me! I need you!" Empty words, of course. That was no matter, though. Graverobber took her as she wanted. He would benefit from it in some form as well.

Or so he thought. It took him by surprise when he felt no sexual pleasure from the woman. Usually, that wasn't a problem. What was it about her that prevented arousal? Graverobber didn't know. When the girl left he had the balls to think it had something to do with the damned Blind Mag. If he couldn't have fun anymore because of her, she would be sorry. Perhaps she'd become a source of Zydrate.

Graverobber cackled manically. He would play nice, for now. He would seize the opportunity at any moment he could to make Mag pay, should she ever cross his path again. Something in his gut told him that she would.


	3. Chapter 3

Mag could not believe she was doing this. She was doing what one week prior she knew was foolish. It was late, and she was heading to the alley. She was heading to the alley. She was going to confront this 'Graverobber', demand to know what his problem was. It had been eating away at her. She knew not why he plagued her so, but she was going to find out. Other than that, she wanted to get to know him. Was it wrong to want the company of another human being? Was it the fact that he'd saved her that earned him the ranking of being her object of aggravation and affection? Not only, but it was part of it.

The night was cold and she had gone without a jacket. She briefly fancied being held close to Mr. Graverobber, feeling the warmth of his strong body. She shook the image away. It had made her heart ache for some reason, made it yearn. She knew it was not likely to happen, but the idea fascinated her just the same. She didn't even want it. Fantasy was always safer than the real deal.

Mag walked through the alleyway, looking all around her. It didn't take long to find him. It appeared he had been looking for her as well.

"You!" they spoke in unison. Their eyes locked, they charged at each other. They stopped with only six inches of space between them. "You're driving me insane!"

They both paused at their confession of the same thing. Neither of them had thought that the other had them in mind.

Graverobber took over. "Because of you, Mag, I have been unable to experience sexual pleasure of any kind!"

Mag laughed at the absurdity of it. She laughed because he'd sounded so damned serious as he said it. "Well I haven't been able to get you off my mind since you saved me last week! Why did you even bother? You were so cold to me afterwards. If it was so troubling to save me, why not let me be raped? You asked me of my identity – why can't you give me yours?" Mag seemed to have been more deeply haunted by him than he'd been of her.

"You bitch!" Graverobber's heart was doing jumping jacks and he didn't like it. "You. . .You're forcing me to feel."

Was Mag still in fantasy world, or was he for real? "Why is feeling such a bad thing?"

"You don't understand!" Graverobber grimaced at the loudness of his voice. "With what I do," He buckled over. He felt a pain in his chest, a pain in his heart. "With what I do I can't feel. I can't be soft. I'm surrounded by the dead. I suck Zydrate from corpses. If I feel human, if I feel alive I'll be squeamish. I'll be unable to continue my job. Damn it woman. . .you make me feel too. . .too. . ."

Mag touched his shoulder. Her eyes held sympathy. "I didn't mean. . ."

Graverobber looked up at her slowly with an evil glint in his eyes. Quicker than anything, his arms were forcing her into the wall. He first attempted to strangle her, halfway through he thought of something even better and threw her to the ground.

He was following the same path the almost-rapist had. He was about to do the same task. He reared his head, ready to strike. Her eyes stopped him. Wide, painful, and terrified. The way she looked at him – Graverobber just couldn't manage to do it. The evil glaze to his eyes vanished. His voice was a barely audible whisper, "I'm sorry." He swiftly stood back on his feet. He started walking away.

As Mag made it to her feet, she tried to calm her beating heart. "Why did you stop?" She was frightened and confused. She had somehow managed to be turned on, as well.

Graverobber could not stop his choked answer, "Your eyes." He stopped; turning to look at her.

"If I come close to you, are you going to try killing me again?" Mag asked.

Graverobber seriously contemplated his answer. After about a minute he sincerely answered, "No."

So Mag approached him. The expression on Graverobber's face was heartbreaking. Such conflicted agony. It was an expression that showed his struggle of maintaining a heartless shell, hiding his heart from the world. Mag risked a gentle touch. Her hand simply resting on his cheek. She met his eyes and her heart went out to him. "It is obvious, Graverobber, that you are a very lonely man. It is true, also, that I am a very lonely woman." She started to move her hand away but Graverobber raised his own to it and pinned it down. Mag let out a small gasp.

"I don't know why I feel such an attraction to you," Graverobber's voice was a gentle growl. "But I do." He leaned in ever so slowly, cautiously. Mag felt her heart speed up. The space between them was getting smaller by the millisecond. Smaller, smaller, smaller, until there was no space left between them at all. Their lips met in a kiss that already pulsed of passion. Tongues explored foreign mouths, bodies pressed together, eager for more.

When they broke apart from the glorious kiss, Mag was suddenly in tears.

"Mag?" Graverobber was confused. What should he do? What _could_ he do? What had caused the outburst? He wasn't sure what he felt. He hadn't had time to digest all that had just happened.

Mag sank to the ground, tears streaming down her face. She sobbed openly. "Damn GeneCo! Damn Rotti!" She smacked her open hands onto the ground repetitively. They scratched roughly and started to bleed. "Damn Marni! Damn Pavi! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" It was the most she'd sworn in her life. She was cursing everyone who'd caused her some form of pain.

"Hey," Graverobber knelt down and took her wrists. He felt the blood tickle onto his hands. "Stop it," his voice was gentle and soft. "You're hurting yourself."

"I don't want to go back to GeneCo. I'm tired of performing for them. If I stop – I'll die just like Marni. . .You should've let the bastard kill me, Graverobber. You should've let him kill me."

"Nonsense. I have ways of getting around GeneCo's radar. I could get you away."

Mag hopelessly collapsed into him, crying. So much pressure building up through the years had to come out sometime.

Graverobber wrapped his arms around her. He stroked her hair gently. "You're okay, Mag. You're okay."

Mag fell asleep in his arms, exhausted from the night's events. Graverobber sat in silence. He could feel Mag's breathing as he thought about everything. He did now know that for some twisted reason, he cared about Blind Mag – the damned Voice of GeneCo (damned not being used loosely). How could he care for someone that was the representative of the organization he deeply despised? It was too much to handle. He felt more loving passion and hatred than he knew what to do with. It would've been better if they'd never met. It _had_ been better, when all Blind Mag was to him was a person of media.

It seemed if Mag wasn't around (or awake), Graverobber felt nothing but a burning hatred. As soon as she was near, he melted to a honey-sweet goo. He couldn't afford to feel like that sweet goo – at all. He wouldn't be able to survive if he lost his guts; without clinging to the burning hatred.

On another note, it would be safer for Mag if he wasn't around, anyway. Should she be around him if he got caught doing his job – it would cost her her life for being that low of a traitor. Besides, Graverobber knew he had a temper. He'd actually killed that man a week prior – the one who'd nearly raped Mag. He'd made a great amount of Zydrate for the taking as well, but nonetheless if that much anger were to be stirred around her, there was no saying what her fate would be. It was better for them to keep their distance.

Graverobber discreetly slipped away from the sleeping Mag. He was careful not to wake her, for if she woke his plan would be foiled. He made sure her fall to the concrete was graceful, gentle, and soft. He allowed himself one last, longing look before setting off. His exit was so quiet; you could hear a singing GeneCo garbage truck in the distance if you stopped to listen. Graverobber hurried off to the closest cemetery. There were fresh burials with each coming day, which meant new sources for the addictive Zydrate. More tasks for Graverobber to busy himself with. More distractions. More to help take his mind off Mag.

Frenzied digging led to quicker corpse revealing, leading to vials of Zydrate being filled faster. The extraction of the Zydrate from the corpses seemed quicker, the act more clean, and somehow the substance more pure. Graverobber had much time on his hands to fill. It would be a long while before he returned to the familiar alley. He needed to give Mag enough time to wake, discover his absence, and leave before returning. It meant he might have to find somewhere else to sleep that night, temporarily. It seemed he would have plenty of time to start searching at the body he'd just extracted a vial full of Zydrate from was the last fresh one. As he was storing the vial among the many others in his pocket, he heard a voice.

"This is the first time I've had the pleasure of seeing you at work."

Graverobber knew that voice. He turned. He was quite surprised to see one of his older customers. She hadn't been by in so long he figured her dead. "Ah, Ms. Sweet," he acknowledged. As he stood he wiped his hands off on his pants. "May I be of any service?"

Amber Sweet, the spoiled daughter of the Largo family, let out a sigh. "Aw, Graverobber," The whine in her voice matched the pout on her face that she was trying to make look sexy. She succeeded about halfway. "You know me, I can't stay away from my Z for too long." She glided into the graveyard and dragged a hand slowly down his chest. "Or from you."

"You're a filthy whore, you know that?" his voice was a sultry purr.

Amber smiled in the dark. "I'm a bad girl." She pulled a thick wad of bills from her cleavage. "Large tip, my treat."

Graverobber was trying desperately to be turned on to the tease. It was starting to work, which was good. When he felt Amber stuff the wad of cash into his pants, it took a little but of effort to suppress a moan. It wasn't nearly as hard as it used to be, though. He threw his arms around Amber's waist. "Ever do it in a cemetery?"

Amber turned a full circle in his arms and locked lips in a fierce kiss. Graverobber wasn't sure whether the burning he felt was hatred or desire, but he would ride it as long as he could. He lowered them to the dirt floor. "Z now or later?"

"Later," came Amber's sexy whisper. She nipped at his lip. "It's cold out here, dear. Heat me up!"

Graverobber ground his hips against her. Amber threw her legs up around his waist. More lust-filled kisses, more playful biting.

"When am I going to get to see all of you, baby?" Amber asked impatiently. "You're such a tease."

"You've seen all of me."

"Yes, but it's been so agonizingly long. Remind me of how it feels." She ground herself against him.

Graverobber didn't feel like getting naked. He couldn't. He dug out the Zydrate gun, pressed it into Amber's stomach, and pulled the trigger. Amber's limbs fell limply to the ground. He quickly fled the scene; he couldn't deal with her drama. For a split second he considered returning to Mag, but he knew it couldn't be done.

Off into the night, Graverobber ran. He walked for a long time before coming across an old, run-down church. Sanctuary. He crept inside. It was deserted, and he liked it. He climbed into a confessional that was more in tact than the rest of the building. It was cozy, if not a bit claustrophobic. He curled up and commenced to let sleep take over.


	4. Chapter 4

Mag awoke to find Graverobber was gone. Had she dreamt all of it? As her eyes adjusted she knew that had not been the case. She was still in the alleyway, just as she'd been the night before. Where had he gone? Why had he left her all alone? She was more confused now than she'd been before. At least before she'd just thought he hated her and regretted saving her. Now, after he'd kissed her and confessed to being attracted to her, tried to calm her when she cried, she was more confused. People who care don't just leave someone stranded like that. Of course, it was the twenty-first century, after all. Those things _did _happen, no matter how much Mag felt they shouldn't. There was more to it than that, though, Mag knew it; she just didn't know the why. She wanted to know the reasoning behind it. She knew he hadn't done it out of cold blood. S, she would wait. If it took all day and all night, she would wait for Graverobber's return.

Her holo-communicator beeped. 'Message from Rotti Largo.' Who else would it have been? Mag flipped the top open. 'Rehearsal in an hour.' Mag groaned. No matter what, she wasn't leaving until she spoke to Graverobber. No matter what the consequence, it would be worth the risk. So she hoped.

Hours passed. Graverobber was still a no show. Mag's holo-communicator beeped, again. 'Message from Rotti Largo.' Frustrated, Mag flipped the top up. 'Where are you, Mag? You are late!' Rotti was angry. Oh well, he was just going to have to deal with it. Mag's eyes lit up as she got a gleefully evil idea. She took the holo-communicator off her wrist, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it. It broke easier than she'd expected. She bent down and picked up its shattered pieces. She took it to the nearby dumpster and threw it in. There it mingled with all the other garbage. Mag let out a sigh. She walked to the wall and leant against it as she awaited Graverobber's return.

_ _

Graverobber awoke that morning, forgetting where he was. After a couple seconds the memories of the night before sank in. Junkies, unpleasuring sex, Mag, Zydrate extraction, Amber, bolting, church confessional. It was all there. He needed to get back to his alley. His junkies would surely be looking for him. Since it was daylight he would have to take great care in getting back undetected. He was sure he'd be fine, though. He never got caught. If he stuck to the shadows it would be easy enough.

Starting his escape back home, Graverobber moved with caution. He kept his back pressed against walls and remained hidden from others' sight. It was a painfully slow pace, but he was getting closer and closer to his alley. He slinked along through the city like a sly cat with a trick up its sleeve.

When Graverobber reached the mouth of the alley he stopped dead in his tracks. There was Mag, awake and alert. He hadn't expected her to pull a stunt like that; hadn't expected her to _wait_. He mustn't have been the only one to feel their connection, then. He tried to keep out of her view, but it was no use. She'd spotted him anyway. She was approaching him with the speed of a bull. He caught a glimpse of unshed tears in her eyes. _No, not again._ That was the only sign of weakness he saw on her, though. Everything else was strong-willed – it was the face the public got to see. Was it just a mask?

"Why did you leave?" It was such a simple question, but the answer didn't come easily. What was he supposed to do? Lie? Be honest? What was the truth, anyway? Mag let out a hurt laugh. "What? You can save me, nearly kill me, kiss me, and hold me, but you can't talk to me? Why did you abandon me out in the cold?" She stared at his eyes, wounded. She stepped back a few steps. "Just being here right now, I'm risking my life. I'm risking it for you, Graverobber." She displayed a show of holograms for him through her eyes. She showed him bits of her surgery, showed her contract, her performances, Rotti and his temper, her holo-communicator messaged from earlier in the day, how she destroyed it, and a prediction of what could happen to her, should Rotti find out her whereabouts.

Graverobber was intrigued by her eyeshow, but nonetheless saw the seriousness and stupidity of what had been shown to him. "You foolish woman! Why would you risk your life for such a low-life creature like me?"

"Because I want an answer. Please?" It seemed out of her stubbornness, Mag would be in just as much danger without him as she was with him.

"I thought you would be safer without me, alright? I thought by leaving I'd be protecting you." Mag closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and retreated to the brick wall. She slid against it, down to the ground. Graverobber followed after her. "What? I gave you your answer, Mag. What's wrong now?" He sat next to her. "I am doing my best not to snap at you."

Mag opened her eyes and looked at him. "Did you forget about your promise?"

"What promise?"

Mag replayed the memory of the night before through her eyes. She showed him her crying form, their bodies close together. She let him hear her rant again. She then fed his own words back to him. 'I have ways of getting around GeneCo's radar. I could get you away.' She reeled the memory back in. "There is one thing you must know about me, Graverobber, and it's that I can't stand empty promises."

"I meant it, Mag." Graverobber wrapped an arm around her. "If you need me to, I will get you out of here, strings attached or no. I'm not that cruel."

Mag let out a stiff laugh. "You had me fooled." She looked into his eyes. "Please don't leave me again. Promise me you won't."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"You don't like empty promises."

"I hate you." She kissed him tentatively, still a bit timid and frightened of him.

"Why do you have to -?" Lips crashed together again.

"Tastes so good." Mag finished his question unknowingly with her statement. Her hands hungrily roamed his body. Her breathing became erratic. "Stay with me?"

After a hungry kiss that aroused Graverobber big time, he broke off to say, "I'll stay." Their lips met again.

"Don't lie."

"I'm not!" Their lips kept pulling back together like a magnetic force. "I'll stay here with you."

"You'd better!" Graverobber eased them to the ground keeping her on top. "Please be gentle."

"Don't worry." He caressed her cheek gently. _Skin's so milky soft._

"I am fragile."

"You'll be fine." Another kiss.

Mag held onto Graverobber tightly. "Take it slow.

"I know." He kissed her gently. He slowly advanced to places other than the mouth. He gingerly kissed her jawline and dipped down, trailing more kisses along her neck. Mag ran her hands slowly up his back, weary of her scratches, and balled them up in his hair. Graverobber worked his way back up to her lips as he softly ran a hand up her silky smooth leg. He massaged her thigh gently.

Mag shuddered violently. "Alright, stop." Graverobber immediately obeyed. Mag untangled her hands from his hair and picked herself up. Graverobber stood as well. A tear trickled out Mag's eye. "Hold me." Graverobber did so. He rubbed her back gently in silence. "It's – it's just too soon." Graverobber kissed her forehead. He felt so protective, all of a sudden. He wanted nothing more than to make her happy at the moment. Mag felt a sharp pain in her hands. She raised them into view. "Ugh. They're bleeding again."

Graverobber seemed to keep a lot of things in his jacket. He pulled out a small bottle of water and a white rag from his pocket. "This might sting a little," he warned. He opened the bottle, pressed the rag over it, turning it upside down and back quickly, wetting the rag. He dabbed it along Mag's reopened wounds. The blood cleaned off, and as far as Mag let on, it didn't hurt. He pressed the rag to her hands until they stopped bleeding. The rag was now stained red. He returned the objects to his pocket.

"Thank you." Mag hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go. "I need to go."

"You'll be okay?" He worried about what would be in store for Mag when she got back to work. "I'll be back," Mag promised. "If I don't return to you tonight, then I'm dead – but I _will_ return." She kissed him deeply.

"You'd better. If not, I'll pump enough Zydrate into your corpse to revive you."

Why did that make Mag smile? She caressed his face gently. "I'll be back." Then she left. She walked back to GeneCo's theater. She knew she had to give Rotti and explanation he'd accept – an explanation that would spare her life. It would require the performance of her life to pull off, but it would be done.


	5. Chapter 5

Blind Mag ran to Rotti Largo's office in tears. She noticed how quickly his livid expression had changed to one of concern. That was good. She rushed into his arms. "Rotti - I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be late"

"Didn't you get my messages?"

Mag shook her head franticially. "No, I didn't. I - I was attacked! The holo-communicator was ruined, completely shattered by my attacker." She showed him her hands. "He scraped my hands against the cement like a cheese grater!" She cried heavily into him. "I'm so sorry, Rotti. I'm just so frightened. I can't believe what happened."

Rotti rubbed her back. "It's alright, Mag. I'll tell you what, love. No performance tonight. Just stay with me, relax for the night. It'll do you good."

"You wish for me to stay all night?"

Rotti nodded. "I think it would be best.

"I would rather sleep in my own bed, if that's alright. I sleep better at home."

"Alright, fine. You can stay at home tonight. But stay with me until you leave."

"Oh, thank you, Rotti!" Mag planted a gentle kiss on his lips. She gazed into his eyes. "What can I do to repay you?"

Rotti's hands had dropped down to Mag's waist. Their lips met again. Mag was revolted, of course, but it was all part of her show. That, better than anything else, would surely keep her alive. Rotti was speechless.

Mag had to sink low to be believable. She ran her hand over the white shirt that separated her hand from his chest. "You know, all those years ago when you and Marni were together, I was always jealous of her. I wished it had been me in your arms." She lightly nibbled on his lower lip. "Take the pain away, Rotti. Please take the pain away."

_ _

Graverobber was growing anxious as he watched Mag approach him. The beat of his heart began to slow form its once furious state. He felt a smile creep onto his face. When Mag got close enough he would take her in his arms, kiss her with passion, and hold her tightly. As her face came into view, Graverobber's smile dropped. Standing before him was Amber, not Mag. He snarled. "What do you want?"

Amber thrust herself against him. She gripped his ass, pressing him close. "To share the good news. Now that the has-been soprano is gone, tonight I take the stage."

Graverobber's blood stilled in his veins. "Repeat that again." Had he heard correctly?

"What? That I take the stage tonight?"

"No. Before that."

Amber's eyes lit up in delight. "Oh! That has-been soprano is gone."

"What do you mean, 'gone'?" Graverobber's temperature dropped so low he could be mistaken for a corpse.

Amber giggled. "She's gone. Dead. Daddy hired a Repo Man to take back her eyes. The scene was so ugly. not even the best surgery would fix it."

Graverobber pushed her away. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I wanted you to know, baby." She grabbed onto him and ravished him with relentless kisses. "This way we can be together. I'll get you a job as a surGEN and you'll have an unlimited supply of Zydrate. It's going to be great!"

Graverobber smacked her across her ever-changing face, making her stumble away from him off balance.

Graverobber had fallen asleep, thankfully it had all just been a dream. When he awoke he looked around for Mag, then realized that she had gone back to work. As he attempted to relax he was flooded with a whirl of emotions. Hatred towards both Amber and Mag, worry for Mag, lust for Amber and Mag.

Convinient or not, he was approached by a junkie. "Hey, ya got some Z, man?"

Graverobber raised a vial of the substance in question.

"Sweet! Uh, I don't have money right now. I'll pay you later."

Graverobber loaded the vial into the Zydrate gun. "Consider it a favor," his anger at the dream showed through. He pressed the gun to the man's neck and set it off. The man collapsed almost lifelessly under Zydrate's affects.

Silence at last. Graverobber was seething with fury. He wanted to kill Mag; he wanted to keep her safe. He wanted to scream at her and beat her; he wanted to hold her close, kiss her tenderly, and whisper words of love. He wanted his heart to stay dead; he wanted to feel alive. Needing to find a physical outlet for his emotions, Graverobber spun and punched the wall full-force. The pain felt good, it gave Graverobber something to narrow his thoughts on. He vowed though, that the next time he saw Amber he would fucking kill her. He would kill her and bury her in someone else's grave so her body would never be found. Before he killed her, though, he might just fuck her one last time.

The thought brought on some evil form of peace in Graverobber's mind. Killing Maber would, after all, do Mag a favor. It would do him a favor as well. So what if he would be losing his greatest customer? There was plenty more where she came from and it would be completely worth it.

_ _

When evening had broken out, Mag left the GeneCo theater feeling quite flustered. Her plan seemed to fall through, working to the nth degree. The question was, how long would she have to continue the act? She'd already come close to bedding Rotti, and she knew that was sending off the completely wrong signals. Better to live through hell than to die an awful death, especially now that she had reason to live. Anyway, if worst came to worst, Graverobber would be able to get Mag away from the hectics of GeneCo if she so much as asked. Thinking of Graverobber made her heart flutter. It was the strangest mutual attraction, but a mutual attraction nonetheless. She broke out into a sprint, needing to see him again. He was so unpredictable she didn't know what kind of a mood she'd find him in. It would be worth it, though, if she ever got to experience with him what they had done earlier, again. How interesting it was that when she'd first spoken to him all she had wanted was his name, but now she wanted, even expected, much more than that.

As soon as Mag had spotted him in the alley she tackled him, flinging her arms and legs around him. Graverobber stumbled with the weight but stood his ground, bracing her with his hands. "I told you I'd be back," Mag stated in a jokingly patronizing tone.

All of Graverobber's previous anger faded away. He felt a great rush of relief. It seemed some part of him had been waiting for that dream to come true. His kiss was sloppy, but he was excited to have her back in his arms. Mag kissed back feeling all his excitement and something more. Was it pain? She pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing." Graverobber kissed her again. "Just a dumb dream. Petty stuff, really."

"You helped me in my aching hour," she reminded. "Let me help you."

"Mag," Graverobber let Mag down. "I'm fine." His voice held a tone of finality. End of discussion.

Mag caressed his cheek and smiled softly. "Alright." She hugged him. "You know you've got beautiful eyes?"

"Not as beautiful as yours."

"Yes, but my eyes are property of GeneCo." It had been the first actual compliment Graverobber had given her. She would've been happier had the compliment been on a body part she was born with, or on who she was inside.

Graverobber pulled back. He took her hands gently. "The rest of you is beautiful too."

"You mean it?"

"Honest."

Mag smiled happily. She squeezed his hands gently. She wondered if he would feel the same if she were still blind, but she'd save the question for later. "Would you like to sleep in an actual bed tonight? I could sure use your warmth on the other side of the bed."

"I'd like that." Graverobber held her close. "Besides, I don't want you to leave my sight."

Mag's face fell serious. "Really, Graverobber, I may not know you very well - at all, but I do know enough to know you wouldn't just say that out of the blue without a reason. What is going on?"

In order to keep Mag safe from his rising temper, not wanting to risk breaking any bones, Graverobber hastily let go of her hands and backed away a couple steps into the wall. "Don't make me hurt you. I don't want to, but I _will_ if I lose control."

Mag wanted to go to him, but wisely kept her place. "Just tell me what's going on with you, please?"

Graverobber was laboring his breathing, stretched out across the wall. "I don't want you to die!" it was said with angry passion.

Mag was taken aback. She was stunned. After a few seconds of silence Mag asked, "What makes you think I'm going to die?"

"It's. . .just a stupid dream. I don't want it to become a premontition."

"What?" Mag didn't have enough information to understand what Graverobber was talking about. She couldn't make the connection. She waited for him to continue.

"In the dream. . .the daughter of the Largo family came here and announced your death."

"Don't worry. Really. I haven't pissed Rotti off enough for him to send a Repo Man after me," Mag insisted.

"Maybe not yet, but you might. I don't want that to happen - ever. Do you understand?" his voice had a somewhat desperate tone.

"What do you suggest I do, then?" Mag felt the beginning warmth of anger, but it didn't show.

"I don't know!" Graverobber yelled. His head was pounding and his heart aching. It would've been much easier if they'd kept their distance. He'd tried that already, though, and it hadn't worked. Now it was too late to try again. His fondness had grown too strong to overcome.

Mag stood patiently for a few minutes waiting for him to calm. When she'd noticed that at least his muscles relaxed, she opted, "It's late. Come on," She offered her hand. "Let me take you home." Her voice was tender, tentative.

Graverobber hesitated momentarily before reaching out to take her outstretched hand. "You have outstanding patience," he commented. "To deal with someone like me."

"What do you mean, 'deal with someone like you'?" Even as she asked she understood what he'd meant. "What a way to lower your self-esteem."

Graverobber simply laughed. It was a dark laugh, not very happy. "Don't tell me you still believe in the old ways."

"What if I do?" Mag questioned.

"Then I envy and laugh at you at once." He envied her ability to cling to her beliefs and laughed because it was a foolish thing for their time period. Then again, so was hanging around a grave robber.

Mag led the way through the dark to her home. Since she had once been blind, she didn't need light to know where she was going. She lived in the same house she'd grown up in. She was silent as she wasn't sure how to respond to Graverobber's compliment/insult.

Once the house had been reached, Mag unlocked the door and pushed Graverobber inside. From there she locked all the doors and pulled the shades down over the windows. For someone who was supossed to represent the darkest company in the darkest era, Mag's home was warm and inviting. Graverobber wasn't sure whether he was unsettled or grateful. "The house is nice," he managed.

"Meaning old-fashioned, right?" Mag sat in a large chair in the living room. She indicated for Graverobber to sit on the couch to her left. "This house comes with many fond memories. It is empty though, without family, friends, laughter. . ." Mag seemed to go off into a trance.

Graverobber caught himself thinking, _Maybe we could repopulate the house._ If there was ever an appropriate time for him to blush, it would be then. His 'survival zone' may have been expanded, but it hadn't been by _that _much.

While Graverobber was still out of it, Mag reeled back into reality. She slipped out of the room to change into her nightgown. When she returned with it on, she also had a bundle of oversized sweatclothes she used to wear while lounging around the house before she'd become GeneCo's slave. "Hey, space cadet!" She tried getting his attention. She tossed the sweats to him. "If you're going to be in my bed tonight, you've got to change."

Graverobber caught the sweats, snapping back to reality. "Where's the bathroom?" he asked a bit awkwardly. He would feel completely odd in the clothes she had given him. He also didn't miss how Mag's nightgown shaped her curves and left little to the imagination. Mag pointed to the location of the bathroom. Graverobber hastily left in the direction she'd pointed/

Mag watched after him, a smile forming on her lips. This way he couldn't run scared, right? If he did, it wouldn't do him much good. She knew where to find him. She walked to the bathroom and knocked lightly on the door. "I'm heading to my bedroom," she informed.

"Okay," came Graverobber's reply.

"Which, by the way, is down the hall, farthest door on the right," Mag added. She then went off to her bedroom and laid down on the bed. She was looking forward to the extra warmth she'd have that night.

Graverobber observed his reflection. Yes, he both felt and looked completely ridiculous. It was okay though. He was going to slep in an actual bed for the first time in years, and it would be alongside someone that he cared about. Once he got over his initial embarassment, he followed Mag's previous directions to her bedroom. It felt strange, walking in as if he'd lived there and owned the place. When he'd opened the door, he understood why he'd needed to change. Everything was white. The furniture, the floor, the walls, everything. "Is this the purest room of the house?" he asked jokingly as he entered the room.

"It could be," Mag answered. She pulled the covers back. "Hop in."

Graverobber didn't hop, but he got in nonetheless. He turned his head to avoid the light's harsh glare and found himself staring right into Mag's genetically enhanced, but breath taking, eyes.

"Yes?"

"The lights are a bit bright." He had to come up with something to say.

Mag clapped and the lights shut off. One of the most commonly used inventions before GeneCo started was, of course, the clapper. As technologically advanced as they were, no one had come up with a way to make it a better tool. "Come closer," she requested.

Graverobber did so. "Thank you." An arm managed to snake around her shoulders in the total darkness.

Mag snuggled close. She rested her head on his chest. "No, thank _you_. Without you I. . .I don't even know. You give me reason to feel alive. If you hadn't saved me, I'd be in much worse shoes than I am now."

Graverobber wasn't sure if he agreed to that statement or not, but he stayed silent. He idly stroked Mag's hair. It was a nice feeling, her head resting solidly against his chest, her hair managing to feel like silk despite all the hairspray GeneCo forced on her for performances.

"You know, I still don't know your name. It's okay, though. It's not that important. Words, names, are meaningless, the only think that matters is what we feel, right? Nothing else matters." Mag raised her head slowly. Her hand aided her in finding Graveribber;s face. She let it rest against his cheek as she softly kissed him.

Turning slightly, Graverobber wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and returning the kiss. He could feel her body solidly pressed against him as if there were no clothes separating them. He allowed his lips to wonder to her neck and nibble lightly. Mag shuddered against him with pleasure. "I don't know how I'll ever let you leave tomorrow."

"Don't worry about that now," It was evident in Mag's voice that she wanted them to continue with what they were doing. Before he could protest, Mag hungrily kissed him again. She wasn't sure if she was ready to go all the way with him, it was a big commitment in her eyes that she wasn't sure Graverobber would be able to fill, but she was itching for it pretty badly. When she pulled back from the kiss, she looked where she knew his eyes to be and made her own light up so he could see them.

"You've got your own personal night light there," Graverobber stated when greeted by the new source of light. "What more can those eyes of yours do?"

"Nevermind the eyes. I want you to look at me. I've got something important to tell you."

Graverobber silenced himself, waiting for her to go on. He wondered what it was she was about to say.

"I just want you to know, if we ever end up having sex, we'll have signed into a commitment, a relationship." The words flowed easily from her mouth but they were torturingly hard to say. Mag worried the whole time that the words would make Graverobber run, and she didn't want that. "I'm not talking marriage - I don't think I'll ever be allowed that, but I am asking for monogamy. If we do it, no outside people, it will just be us. Do you understand?"

With all seriousness, Graverobber nodded. "I don't want anyone else," It was sincere and honest.

"I know how. . .free Zydrate addicts tend to be. It will mean they won't be able to make any sexual payments, which I know you've accepted in the past." She remembered his absured accusation the past day. Had it just been a day since then? They must have been lonelier than Mag had originally thought. "There will be no more of that if we have sex."

"Crystal clear. My statement remains the same. I don't _want _anyone else." He caressed her cheek gently. "I want you to know, though, that I know Rotti is an evil person. I want you to do whatever it takes to survive around that man. Even if it comes down to sex."

Mag didn't know why she'd let the lights of her eyes die. It wasn't like that would stop Graverobber from knowing that she was crying.

Graverobber hugged her tightly. He could feel her crying. He thought it had something to do with what he'd said about Rotti and felt that maybe he shouldn't have said it at all. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." He rubbed her back gently. "Don't cry over what I said, please." Little did he know that hadn't been the reason for her tears. He kissed her, wanting to suck the pain away. He wanted to take it all back. She shouldn't have to cry. He could taste her tears and that made him want to stop them even more. "Don't try to talk, just calm down."

Mag cried into his shoulder. She tried calming down as he'd asked, but it was no use. She wouldn't be calm until it was out in the open and until she'd seem his reaction. At least she wouldn't have to explain it to him using words, she could show him through her eyes. So, she mustered up the strength to roll onto her back and clap, turning the lights on. She got out of the bed. "I need to show you. . ." She let her eyes do the rest. They projected her memories from earlier in the day when she had been with Rotti. She showed him everything from her 'performance' to nearly bedding Rotti. She reeled it back in and awaited his reaction with anticipation and worry. She was scared of what it would be. Wondered if he would be angry, wondered if he would be completely fine with it.

Graverobber got out of the bed and went to her. "You did what was necessary. It's alright." He rubbed her arm gently. "You'll be okay. Come here." He hugged her close.

Mag hugged back, relieved that he wasn't angry with her, but suspicious as well. She was used to watching her back, because she knew all too well that things were usually not what they first appeared to be. People usually come with some form of ulterior motive. Love was supposed to be simple, with no said motives, but what they shared wasn't love. At least, not yet. Besides, in the twenty-first century, love without ulterior motives was too much to hope for.


	6. Chapter 6

As Mag allowed Graverobber to lead her back to bed, she wanted to ask that there would be no secrets between them, but again, it was probably too much to ask for. She'd already given him a nice restraint that bound them together should they ever have sex. He hadn't asked much of her at all. Perhaps it was because he acknowledged her right to make her own choices, unlike GeneCo, and wanted her to have as much freedom as she could while she was with him. Or maybe it was Mag's pretty imagination. Even after Marni's death, she still dreamed girlish dreams. "Thank you for. . .respecting me as a person and not treating me like an object." It was said as the two got back in bed. She clapped, turning the lights off. "I really appreciate it." She hugged him close. "And for dealing with my moodiness. It takes true talent to deal with the overrated emotions of today." It was true, in their day and age, emotions were overrated and simply got in the way. They were for the weaklings. Mag supposed she belonged to that group.

Graverobber cupped her face gently. "And you thought _I _was lowering _my_ self-esteem?" He was letting his own small belief in the old ways come to the surface, for her. He kissed her. He didn't want to go to sleep. He wanted to stay up all night and be with her. He wanted to be with her forever, so the bastard Rotti couldn't lay another hand on her. He wanted to lay with her, telling her what she wanted to hear because he knew she would safer that way, delaying her inevitable facing with the world's cruelities. The illusion that Mag would be safer in his arms just kept growing bigger. It was a pretty lie and he'd known it from the beginning. He was allowing himself to be fooled, however, so that they could enjoy the peace while it lasted.

When Mag kissed back, adreneline sped through their bodies. Mag held herself close to his warming body in fear that everything was a dream. It felt pretty real, but she'd had dreams that were realistic - painfully so, in the past. Why couldn't she have one that was painfully wonderful? The kiss hastily became desperate as the need to know this was not a dream grew. She wanted to burrow inside of him and become a permanent reclouse. She was losing air by the time she backed out of the kiss. Her breath returned in a loud gasp. It was as if she'd been holding her breath under water too long and had just resurfaced.

"Geez, Mag," Graverobber noticed how long the kiss had been and how it had changed its tune along the way. "You trying to kill yourself?"

Her answer surprised him, "Anything it takes to make you real."

"What do you mean?"

"All this - us, just seems to good to be true." It was indeed too good to be true, but not too good to be real.

"I am real." He took her wrist and lightly pressed her hand to his face. "There - solid skin. What could be more real than that?" He could feel the healing scratches of her hands on his face. It was the only interruption to her otherwise smooth skin. As he waited for a reply of some kind, he thought back on the general craziness of the day, of their entire relationship. Surely it was the overly greedy lion and the too willing lamb type, but who was the lion and who was the lamb? He could see the resemblance of each in the both of them. Of course, there was always the possibility GeneCo had just made them insane. It seemed plausible given their situation. His thoughts faded away as he got a reaction. Of course, his lips were held captive once again.

Graverobber used it to prove the reality of his existance to Mag. He deepened the kiss, pressing into her mouth with more force he'd done in the past. He used his hands, tracing her curves on top of the night gown. He imagined pushing the thin material up, away from her thighs, and spreading her legs open. Before he realized it, his fingers were working at the hem of her nightgown. Up, up, up it went. It was nearly over her thighs.

Suddenly, Mag is once again in the arms of the rapist. She can feel him, just as she had that night. The terror she felt escaped her in an earshattering scream. She pushed away from Graverobber. "God! Okay, okay. You're real - I get it! Did you have to terrorize the hell out of me to make me understand?" She was not happy.

Graverobber hadn't realized what he'd done wrong. That was bad. That was really, really bad. He sat up abruptly and allowed himself to ask the question. "Mag, what did I do to you?" It wasn't a question of ignorance but of horror. What had he done that was so awful that he hadn't realized he'd been doing? He'd always been conscious on some degree on what he was doing, no matter how acute the degree was. That had always been the case, so why hadn't he remembered anything?

It slowly sunk in to Mag that it hadn't been Graverobber's fault. She'd just had a bad case of flashbacks at the wrong time. Graverobber hadn't done anything wrong. He'd sounded so guilty and so remorseful when he'd asked what he'd done, he must've truly believed he'd hurt her in some way. Mag felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she realized she was in the wrong. She'd taken out her bad memory on him, making him believe he'd caused her pain. She felt awful. She slowly moved closer to him under the covers. "I'm sorry." She caressed his cheek. She could feel how his facial muscles had contorted. She'd hit a nerve, she could tell. She felt even worse. "Please say something, I didn't mean to push you away like that."

He crushed her against him in an imprisoning embrace. His lips were in her hair, close to her ear as he whispered, "What scares me is I very well could have hurt you just then. . . and I wouldn't have even known it." His voice held a tone of depression.

"I don't care what you think, I know you wouldn't hurt me." As real and down-to-earth as Mag was in some situations, she was in the clouds and completely oblivious in others. Sadly, this was a situation of the latter category. Her better judgement had clearly been tainted by her affection and she was now in more danger than she'd been when they'd started off. Graverobber would've stated the obvious, that she'd put too much trust in him, but there would be no point. Mag would only argue against it.

Instead, he came up with something she'd probably agree with. "We have been through an incredible amount of things since we met. I think if we went to sleep we'd have clearer heads in the morning." He laid back down, bringing Mag with him, who used his chest as a pillow. He brought the covers up to her neck before securely wrapping his arms around her and falling asleep.

_ _

It was late, but high on Zydrate, there was no chance Amber Sweet would sleep. Besides, with her brothers Pavi and Luigi fighting so loudly in the other room, sleep was too much to hope for. She had no idea how her father did it, but then again she didn't really care. Her thoughts were on the Graverobber. Fucking bastard Zd her up and left her stranded, crushed in the cemetary. What a heart warming 'welcome back'. After all she'd done for him, she deserved better.

She would get him back in her arms. She would show him. She could give him more than any of his other worthless junkies had to offer. She loved him, cruel as it was, and she would do anything in her power to win him and his cold heart over. While it was true that she may be a bitch, love was the biggest bitch of them all. While she was often looked at as a slut, and that was the more polite way of putting it, she only lusted after those she felt true affection for. All men once fit under the radar, but over time it had narrowed down to only grave robbers, and now it was just the one.

She smiled, for it was all she could do when she wanted him so badly. She didn't think she'd wanted anyone or him so badly before. She needed a way to impress him, needed a way to make him _want_ to be in her arms, and not just for sex. Something that would earn his affection, something that would make him love her. What, though, could that be? The last time she'd seen him he left her before they'd even had sex. That hadn't happened before, and stranger yet, sex was usually something he'd take on any occasion. If he'd at least left her after sex, she could use that as an incentive for him to be with her. What else was there? She was determined to think of something. As brain dead as she was, there was surely something with a simple complexity that she could think up. She could deliever fresh sources of Zydrate to him, but then he would only think of her as an overly desperate addict. She could get him a personal Repo Man, to make the sources of Zydrate stack up. Then again, it wouldn't be that much better than her other idea. There were so many possibilities, why could she only think up two? There had to be something really good she could come up with, she just had to concentrate. Even with a Z clouded mind, if she focused hard enough, she should be able to concentrate. Another fleeting idea came, but she quickly tossed it as it was no good. As determined as she was, she was about ready to give up. So far she hadn't thought of a single thing that would ensnare Graverobber.

That's when the perfect idea hit her. She had no clue as to why she hadn't thought of it before, it was completely brilliant. There she was, about to give up, and then _boom! _The idea was right there, almost as if it had been under her nose the entire time. Even if it didn't succeed in her having Graverobber, she would reap the benefits in another way.

She knew Graverobber felt a hatred towards GeneCo. He hadn't needed to tell her, GeneCo had a love/hate relatipnship with most, and with grave robbers it was only hate. It was more than hate, even. They _loathed _GeneCo with a passion. _That passion will soon be love and it will belong to me_, Amber thought. She grinned widely, her eyes shining as her idea came together and formed a plan. What better way to win over a Graverobber than to get rid of the Voice of GeneCo? She'd always hated and been jealous of Blind Mag anyway. She wanted the stage. If she were gone, she could have it. If she could come up with something that would make her father send a Repo Man after Blind Mag, Blind Mag would be dead. She'd find Graverobber and tell him. He would be so overjoyed with her she wouldn't be surprised if he bent on his knee and proposed. She would have him in her arms and she would own the stage. She would be loved by all. The only thing she needed to do was come up with something to tell her father, and everything would be set in motion and under control. She cackled as she thought about how great everything was going to be. Soon she was going to have everything she'd ever wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Mag showed up early for work. Knowing she had support and basically permission to do what she needed to do made the act of doing it much easier. Her nervousness was going down and her charm was working up much quicker than it had the day before. By the time she'd reached Rotti's office, she had gained some moderate confidence.

"You're early," Rotti stated as Mag walked through his door. That was different. "Feeling any better today?"

"Much, now that I'm with you." Mag was thankful for her acting ability. She stalked up to him and wrapped her arms around his large frame with a smile on her face. "Mm. You're so warm." She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. "Am I alone in feeling the seriousness of what we have?" Scarcely had it been asked, she felt Rotti's lips upon hers. She urged herself to kiss back. She thought of Graverobber, the only way she knew how to make it possible. She didn't know how Marni, rest her soul, could ever have felt anything resembling love for that man.

"Did that answer your question?"

"No, I think you'll have to try harder than that."

With that Rotti lifted her in his arms almost effortlessly. He kissed her deeply and carried her to his desk.

_ _

Amber saw it all through a small window. It took all her strength to stay silent, to not laugh and ruin everything. Now she knew what she was going to say to her father. She knew how much he hated it when a lover crossed him, and the fact that Blind Mag was his current lover of choice was too perfect. This made her job much easier, all she had to do now was simply wait until she could be alone with her father.

Even though she had no way of knowing that it was true, she would tell her father that she had caught Blind Mag and a grave robber together. It would anger him, and he would send out a Repo Man. Her world would be perfect. With Blind Mag gone, the possibilities of happiness were endless.

Amber turned her attention back to the window. _Wow, _she thought. _I didn't realize what a little slut Blind Mag could be_. She skipped off to her bedroom. She knew full well not to speak of any of it to her brothers. They would find some way to get involved. Knowing Pavi, he would probably want to have sex with the woman before Daddy dearest sent a Repo Man after her. Then there was Luigi, who would probably want to kill her himself because that was just the way he was. Killing was his hobby.

_ _

Graverobber was no back in the alley. Back in his usual clothes, as well. He wanted to be out of the house before Mag left for work. He could feel something that wasn't necessarily good coming over him, or rather, returning to him. He'd known he could only control it for a short amount of time before it reclaimed control over him. It wouldn't take long for Mag to be safer at work than she were with him. The inner demons he'd been battling from the beginning were going to shine through. Although he felt it coming, and knew it would come at the worst possible time, he didn't know when it would arrive and what he'd do once it got there. A relationship gone sour is still a relationship, right?

Graverobber punched the wall on impulse, just because. It felt damn good, too. He laughed manically. It was the kind of laugh that you might hear in a psychiatric hospital full of lunatics.

_ _

Mag was disgusted with herself. The only good thing she'd gotten out of messing around with Rotti was another night off from performing. Her head hung low as she headed to the alley. She needed to see Graverobber, needed to forget about the revolting endeavors with Rotti. For a moment, she just really needed to forget about herself – forget about everything, just for a moment. When she found Graverobber she flung herself on him in a way that screamed desperation. She allowed no time for questions. She threw a kiss on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and lacing her fingers through his hair. She pulled back once to nuzzle against his neck before returning her lips to his in a deeper kiss. She was afraid that for some reason he would pull away so she added some force to the kiss.

Graverobber's hands found a spot to rest on her waist as he pressed closer to her, returning the deep and desperate kiss. They didn't rest for long. Soon they were moving up her back, gently massaging, stroking, and kneading. His fingers traced invisible patterns on her back. It seemed they had an unlimited supply of oxygen until Mag broke off from the kiss. It was a brief break, only long enough to store more air in her lungs. She grabbed his collar and pulled him in for another kiss although this one wasn't quite as long. She trailed kisses along his jaw and across his throat.

Suddenly, Mag was against the wall, feeling the remains stinging of what had been a slap to the face. She was stunned, so it took a couple seconds to figure out what had happened. Graverobber had slapped her. Mag had to overcome the initial shock before she could talk. "Why – What was that for?" She raised her hand to her face that was still stinging as if she expected to feel blood.

"You want to know something messed up?"

Mag smacked his head. "What is your problem?" she demanded. "You just slapped me and you don't even apologize but ask me a question that holds absolutely no relevance!" Proof that she hadn't known Graverobber as well as she'd thought.

"I love you."

"What?!" It was hard to differentiate the mix of emotions in Mag's voice. If he thought that was going to let him off the hook, he was dead wrong.

"I fucking love you, damn it!" He kissed her, but it was rough.

Mag pushed him away. "Who do you think you are? You can't slap someone, tell them you love them, and then kiss them as if you hadn't slapped them at all. It just doesn't work that way. What is wrong with you?"

Graverobber's face softened. "I'm sorry." His voice was gentle again. "I am – I'm sorry. But I meant what I said, I do love you." He kissed her tenderly.

Mag was a fool for letting him.

_ _

"Daddy?" Amber bounced into Rotti's office.

Rotti sat at his desk, not bothering to look at his disgraceful daughter. "What do you want?" he sounded bored. It was always money with her, he could've come right out with, 'how much?'.

"I need to tell you something, Daddy. It's important."

Rotti slowly raised his head to look at her. He doubted what she was going to tell him held any real importance, but he would humor her anyway.

"I saw something not too long ago I know you wouldn't appreciate. I was walking home, and it was pretty dark, but I know I saw Blind Mag with a grave robber."

Rotti's face quickly flared in anger. _That slut! How could she?_ Amber had to struggle to hold back her smile. Then he remembered something Mag had told him and began to calm. "She was a mess yesterday morning," he informed. "She'd been attacked. Are you sure that wasn't what you saw?"

"She seemed to be enjoying it to me. Besides, this was at night."

"When?"

Amber thought fast. "Last week. In an alley."

"Why didn't you come to me about this sooner?" Before he had gotten involved with Mag would have been preferable.

"You've been busy, Daddy. This was the first chance I had to talk to you."

After eyeing her, silently validating her statement, he dismissed, "Thank you, Amber. Run along now. Mag will be dealt with appropriately."

Amber skipped out of the room. She could hardly contain her excitement. Soon her fancy would be reality, he father's parting words had confirmed it.


	8. Chapter 8

It was as if the slap hadn't occured at all. All that mattered was that Graverobber has confessed his love, and that something was holding Mag back from returning the statement.

"It means a lot to me that you've said those words. Knowing that you care that much is great, but. . .I just think it's too soon for me to know how I feel. It must be hard for you to understand, but please try." Mag searched his eyes, hoping to find acceptance.

Graverobber wrapped his arms around her. "Take your time, Mag - it's okay."

"I know that I like talking to you," Mag rested her head on his shoulder. "I like holding you, and kissing you. . .and I'm pretty sure I'd be devastated if anything happened to you. . .but I don't know if that's love."

"Ssh, Mag," Graverobber whispered. "Wasn't it you who said words are meaningless? Wasn't it you who said feelings are the only thing that matters?"

Mag closed her eyes. "Mm. You're right. I should quit worrying." Far from the truth. In the near future, Mag would come to realize that she had much to worry about.

Graverobber stepped back ang gently tilted her head to face him. He touched her face gently where a fading red mark remained. "I'm sorry. Does it still hurt?"

When Mag realized what he was talking about she requested, "Please don't talk about it. It's harder to forget when you talk about it." Tears began to form in her eyes.

When Graverobber noticed, he caressed her cheek softly. "Okay, I won't talk about it." He kissed her and pulled her close. "I just want you to know, if anything happened to you, I'd be devastated as well."

The words held a bittersweet taste of irony to Mag, who wanted to laugh and cry. The fact had brought both joy and sadness. Mag's arms tightened around him, her hands gripping his jacket. She would not cry, she had cried in front of him too much. Although she was fragile, her veneer was usually strong enough to hold through the toughest things. Not around Graverobber. Around him, it were almost as if she had no veneer at all. She didn't want to be weak around him.

There were a few silent minutes before Graverobber asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Mag contemplated the various things she could answer with before settling on, "Us."

Graverobber ran a hand smoothly through her hair. 'Us' covered a variety of topics, but he didn't expect her to elaborate. He was actually too absorbed in his own thoughts to want the in-depth details of hers. His thoughts concerned his state of Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde. At least, that's how he seemed to be lately. His 'hard' side was becoming more dangerous than it had ever been before. His soft side remained the same, but it was the hard side that worried him. It seemed to take control more frequently and unexpectedly when he was around Mag. He'd always needed no conscience to do his job, but he'd never been dangerous. His temper was taking the best of him. He just hoped it wouldn't go as far as making his harm Mag. He would never forgive himself for losing that much control. Harm meant doing serious damage, hurt was light damage and/or emotional blows. He'd already hurt her, that much he could forgive himself for, but harm, never.

Mag looked up at him. "It's nice how close we can be without talking. It's rare." She kissed him. She pressed herself even closer. The familiarity of his mouth was comforting, it was home.

"I wouldn't trade you for anyone," Graverobber breathed between kisses. "You're dear to me."

"My fondness for you is killing me. . .I want you."

"You've got me."

"I mean I _want _you. I can't try to wait any longer. I'm ready now."

"Here?" Graverobber didn't think Mag would want to get dirty and cold.

"I don't care." Mag kissed him hungrily. It was as if she were trying to devour him. She pushed at his jacket. She wanted to feel skin. It slipped off his shoulders with ease, and hit the ground. The crashing of its contents was heard. Mag paused. "Sorry," she apologized.

"It's alright."

Mag resumes. She pushed her hands up his shirt, feeling his not too muscular chest. It was warm beneath her hands, nice and solid to the touch. It wasn't hard as a rock, though, and for that she was thankful. She pushed his shirt up over his head. It was helpful when he raised his arms, making the shirt come all the way off.

She couldn't be selfish. She began working at the ties to her corset, frustrated with how she'd laced it up all the way. Once that was off, the rest was easy. Graaverobber assisted her with getting the dress off, he found the zipper at the base of her neck and pulled. The dress fell easily away. Mag simply stepped out of its skirt and her upper half was fully exposes. Of course she had worn no bra underneath, with the corset pressing tightly over it, it would be too painful to wear one. Her body immediately reacted to the cold. Well, she'd been warned.

Graverobber pressed her against him and kissed her. He felt like a virgin in the sense that he was getting someone entirely new. He knew what to do, though. He had much practice. He let his hands explore her bare back. He felt her shiver against his touch, deepening the kiss. Of course there would be foreplay, there always was, but this time, it didn't really matter to Graverobber. Where usually he was impatient with it, he was now willing to go with the woman's pace - with Mag's pace.

Mag left a trail of kisses from his mouth, down his jaw, his neck, and stopped at his chest. He felt so _good_, and she knew that wouldn't be the best part. She nipped at his chest a little, exploring the new area. She wanted him, all of him, and she would take him piece by piece.

It didn't take long at all for Graverobber to be turned on. He shuddered in pleasure as Mag licked a long line from his chest up to his neck. He kissed her again. At first he hadn't realized how talented her tongue was, but now he could definitely feel it. His lips wandered down to her neck where they stayed, first planting gentle kisses, then sucking at it. It drew a gasp from Mag, egging him to keep at it. Soon her let them wander to her chest. It was a tender area, he knew, so he was being as soft as possible. Using his hands to prop them up, Graverobber left multiple kisses along her breasts. When he tenderly took the tip of one into his mouth, Mag's grip on him tightened. She threw her head back, taking in the overwhelming euphoria. His tongue had fun caressing her nipple and the area around it.

When he let it free, Mag took his lips once again. Her hands shaking, she fumbled with his pants. She knew what she had to do to return the favor. Once Graverobber caught on to what she was trying to do, he unbuckled his pants. He had to break away from the kiss to pull them down. The underwear came off with them. He kicked off his shoes. Mag now few incredibly overdressed in her underwear, fishnets, and heels. A crazed smile came to her face as she got to her knees, running her hands all over his stomach, hips, and thighs. She could see that she was ready for her. She dragged a slow lick up his shaft that arched his back and made his spine tingle. Yes, she was evil, teasing him like that.

She didn't wait too long to take him in, and when she did, it was all of him. She had, quite literally, a big mouth. She brought her head slowly back and forth, nearly killing Graverobber in pleasure. He knotted his hands in her hair. He needed something to hold on to. He was growing even harder than he'd been before, and Mag had to pull back or she was going to gage on him. She looked up at him, their eyes locking, as she provocatively licked her lips.

Graverobber sterred her back up with his hands in her hair. He kissed her fiercely. He wrapped his arms aorund her waist and lifted her, bringing her to the ground. He flung her heels off and rolled her fishnets down. Off came the underwear next. He paused to take a good look at her, head to toe. "God, you _are_ beautiful." Moreso than he'd ever imagined. He layed gently atop her, his mouth roaming. Not an inch of skin was left unkissed.

Their lips met again and the kiss itself was simply beautiful. It emitted love from both ends, more than lust from either party. It was beautiful, angeling love that made you want to cry - but neither of them did. Then, after looking into her eyes as if asking permission, Graverobber slipped into her. Her legs curled around him.

Their bodies synced in tune with he other. Pelvises rocking together, up and down. It was slow at first, but steadily increased its speed. They went faster and faster. Mag gripped onto his back and her nails digging into his skin, and still their speed was increasing. Their climax was building, they could both feel it. Building, building, building, building, until it exploded.

The two cried out together, their voices mingling in the perfect harmony of song. Their bodily fluids flowed out at the same time. Their bodies shook with the force of two orgasms, as they were still connected. They panted tiredly. Graverobber rested his head on Mag's breasts and just before he fell asleep he heard,

"I love you, too, Graverobber."


	9. Chapter 9

Mag wondered if he'd always done that, fallen asleep after sex. It was impossible not to be aware of his sleeping form. When he was sleeping and his control was lost, his weight fell dependant on her. He was quite heavy, she noticed. She wouldn't be able to move until he woke up, but at least she would stay warm this way. She was surprised she hadn't fallen asleep too. Then she realized, the last time she'd fallen asleep near Graverobber in the alley, he'd left her. Perhaps she was afraid it would happen again. She didn't want that, especially not after confiding her love in him. She knew he wouldn't do that to her, though. Not after admitting his love. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling secure.

The silence and the aftermath combined in a birlliant glow. It was blissful, and it might have been moreso if Mag had waited, but she didn't care. She had waited too long, in her opinion. It had made her sure that she loved him, though. There had been no guilt or bad feelings when they'd been together, and that was the most important thing. That one kiss they had shared was simply divine. She could _taste_ his love, and in that one moment she knew that she loved him - she had all along, she just hadn't seen it. For the moment all that mattered was that they loved each other, and that one moment would make the rest of their relationship worth it, throughout the good and the bad. Somehow, she sensed the road ahead was going to be rough, but she would stick by him, if for nothing else then for the love of the moment.

_ _

It had been about a half hour or so until Graverobber woke up. His memory recollected fast, and he lifted his head up. He met Mag's eyes and smiled. "Hi."

"Hello, Sleeping Beauty."

"Has it been a hundred yearS? And it is you who is the beauty - I am the beast."

"Well, either way, 'beast', we are in the nude in an alley, and its getting dark. . .I would do something about it but you're pinning me down."

Graverobber chuckled. "Well maybe I don't want you to get up yet." He kissed her and it was rather chaste compared to their recent activity.

Mag laughed into the kiss, making it harder for their lips to stay together. "Mmm. I think I'll take you home again, we'll have a nice warm shower. . . but this time I'm holding you hostage. There's no need for you to stay on the streets like this, not when I can provide for you."

"So, you're basically forcing me to move in with you?"

"Whether you like it or not."

"You think I won't run away?"

"Will you?" Her voice went from light to serious.

Graverobber was silent, testing her. "Not without reason."

Mag's smile held visible relief. "You're still pinning me down."

Graverobber sat up, looking around for his clothes. Once he'd found his underwear and pants, he moved all the way off of Mag.

It took the two roughly ten minutes to redress, most of that time had been taken by the lacing up of Mag's corset. Mag was now dragging Graverobber along by the hand to her house.

Eyeing the corset, Graverobber asked, "Can you breathe in that thing?"

"With practice. It's not laced up too tightly, anyway."

"How do you _sing _in it?"

"With even more practice. Why do you ask?"

Is it a crime to be curious?" The question was playful.

Mag smiled at him. "No, I guess not." It had been one of their lighter, daresay normal conversations of their relationship and she enjoyed it.

"I just realized something. The only difference of the alleyway and your house is that in the alley we were naked and dry. . . in the house we'll be naked and wet."

Mag let go of his hand to elbow him. "You are the typical man, aren't you?"

"Hardly." Graverobber took her hand again. He traced his thumb over her scratches. By this point they were no deeper than the grooves of her hands. "They've almost healed."

"Yeah. About time, huh?" She stopped walking just in time to avoid being hit by a GeneCo garbage truck. "I guess I should be more careful," she murmured to herself before continuing across the street.

Changing the subject for yet a second time, Graverobber asked, "So, since you're forcing me to move in with you, I take it you're trusting me to be alone in your house while you're working?"

Mag looked at him. "Who says I'm going back to work?"

Graverobber stopped. It was a good thing they were already on the sidewalk. He put his hands on Mag's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Mag. You _have _to go back. As much as I don't like it, I'm still realistic about it. If you don't go back, you're going to be dead, and neither of us want that." So much for their light conversation.

"And what happened to getting me away from GeneCo if I so much as asked?" She snapped at him. For the first time, she showed him her anger. She showed him just how bitchy she could be when pushed too far. There was also hurt mingled in with the anger - Mag hoped he couldn't detect it.

The answer was simple and it rolled easily off Graverobber's tongue, "I lied."

Mag's jaw clenched and she tried to breathe regularly. _Breathe, Mag. Inhale, exhale - ah, screw it! _She shrugged Graverobber's hands off her shoulders. She spun away from him, feeling a pain like no other she had felt before, and she'd had a pretty painful life. "I can't believe I trusted you." She began quickly walking away from him. She'd known that being around him was a mistake, from the moment he'd first spoken to her, she'd known. She had simply been in denial, she wanted to see the good in him., she wanted to believe in love, in happiness. . .in him. Angry tears swelled to her eyes as she realized the awful truth, she was still in love with him.

"Mag, wait!" Graverobber jogged to catch up with her. He felt he could make it up to her, if she would only let him explain. He had his reasonings, and, damn him, he still loved her.

Mag stipped and whirled to face him. "What? How are you going to explain yourself, make this right? I can tell you right now the words, 'I'm sorry' aren't going to do it, not this time." Her voice was sharp and acidic. It toned down to a hurt disappointment for her next words. "In a world full of false hope, the last person I expected it from was you." She turned away from him again, but she didn't move. A couple tears rolled down her cheeks but she was too angry and hurt to care.

"Look at me," Graverobber requested in a gentle tone.

"My ears work fine," Mag retorted.

"Please."

Either the word really holds magical powers or the fact that it was uttered from Graverobber's lips did because Mag turned to look at him.

Graverobber took another step closer. He reached for her hand but she flinched and kept it back.

"Don't touch me."

_Fair enough._ "Listen, Mag. I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to lie, to get your hopes up." He thought it best to leave out the part about how she was an idiot to believe him in the first place. "That night, you were so hysterical I would have said anything to stop your tears. You were a wreck, and some part of me thought lying would be the best way to help. I mean, you had wished for me to have let that rapist kill you! You were out of your senses, it was all I could think of."

It had been a pretty speech, but he'd forgotten one tiny detail. Mag had not. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Forgetting what?"

"The day after."

"What about it?"

"When I told you how I can't stand empty promises. When I reminded you of what had been promised you told me you would hold to your word, strings attached or no - that you weren't so cruel as to not do so if needed. If you've lied to me - twice, so easily about that, then who knows what else you're capable of lying to me about? How can I trust you?"

She'd called his error. That would prove hard to fix. If there had been a fat, red delete button, Graverobber would have pressed it to erase the past five minutes. He took a longshot. "You were starting to get upset again. I was willing to say anything to calm you down."

"So, it was a mad now or mad later thing?" Mag asked.

"Yes."

"Why? Why couldn't you have been honest then and let me be angry at you _before _ I fell in love with you?" She loved him too much to push him away now.

"Because logic and reason fly out the window when love is in the picture!" Graverobber yelled. "Don't you -" He softened his voice. "Don't you know that?"

Mag should not have let him off the hook so easily, but what he'd just said was true. She looked at him and slowly moved her feet so that there was barely any space between them. "Come here, you monster." She threw her arms around him a bit stiffly in a hug. He gratefully hugged back. Something within him just couldn't stand the thought of her being angry with him. "Just don't abuse my trust and we'll be fine." She kisse dhim. "I love you. . . please don't make it painful for me. I think I deserve one painless thing in my life." She was asking for a painless relationship with a grave robber; she was born on a foreign planet.

Graverobber patted her back. "I'll try." The question was, would he succeed? He'd already been doing pretty badly at it. He would do his best to deliever, but there was that one side of him that prevented him from knowing he could make it as painless and blissful as she wanted. As it was, he only knew he was capable, not that it was definite that he would. He wondered if it were possible to have split personalities that answered to the same name.

Mag looped her arm through his and they continued along. It seemed to take forever getting to Mag's house, but maybe she was just taking her time. "I meant what I said about not going back to work. I refuse. I'm done with being a slave."

"Would you have made this decision if you were still single?"

"Possibly."

"So there's a chance that I may have influenced your decision?"

"Possibly."

Graverobber shook his head. "Mag! If being in this relationship is causing you to act recklessly -"

"What?" She eyed him.

Graverobber shut up. He had nothing to say, aside from the fact that she was being plain stupid. Actually, not that he'd thought of it, "You do realize he's going to send a Repo Man after you for quitting, right?"

"So?" Mag looked straight into his eyes, piercingly so. "Don't you want me dead anyway?"

Graverobber was ready to strangle himself or pull his hair out or something. He didn't understand he philosophy at all. She was like the mysterious thousand piece puzzle he couldn't solve. Was she really going back to the beginning? The woman was driving him insane - again. "Have you got a death wish, lady?!" He wanted to stop and shake her into her senses, he knew there was sanity within her somewhere. Alas, he refrained. "How many times do I need to tell you the fact that I. Do not. Want. You. _Dead!_" Was she trying to screw with his mind? What was with that almost tyrannical look she was giving him?

"Sometimes I need to test your feelings. I need to be reminded of how much you care."

Graverobber just decided to let it go. He would have commented on it, but it just wasn't worth the effot. He wasn't going to question it or be angry; he was going to be indifferent about it and let it be. He simply pressed Mag against him, let his hands fall to her waist, and kissed her. Perhaps it would be reminder enough for her to stop playing mind games with him.

"If we keep stopping, we're never going to get there. I'm really craving that shower now." She quickened her pace. She took the time to ponder on how she hadn't been spotted by crazy fans and reporters lately, but she was thankful that she hadn't. For the first time her private life was actually private. She hoped she hadn't jinxed herself by counting her blessings.

The two went without distracting each other long enough to get to Mag's house. Before she opened the door, Mag briefly imagined a Repo Man waiting for her behind it, ready to kill. The idea chilled her, enough to make her think twice about not going back to work. Although she still wanted the shower when they were inside, she didn't want it first thing anymore. She wanted to be held by Graverobber because she scared the hell out of herself.

After kicking her shoes off, Mag curled into a ball on the couch. Graverobber joined her, curious. He thought maybe she was tired. He wrapped an arm around her.

"You okay?"

Mag nodded. She nuzzled into him. She was trying not to think of a Repo Man lurking around a corner. She closed her eyes, and as she rested her head on his chest she found that she didn't want to move. "If I fall asleep, will you just stay holding me?" she requested.

"Of course." Graverobber kissed the top of her head. He thought of one good thing in account of his rough side, and it was that it let his soft, or better, side take control long enough to reverse the damage at the right time. He swept her hair out of her face.

Mag softly smiled. She let out a light sigh. "There's no hope in us having a normal relationship, is there?"

"We're as close to normal as anyone can get in this century." Sad as it was, it was true. The definition of 'normal' held so little truth in their time, it was rarely used.

A short laugh escaped Mag, but she said nothing. Eyes still shut, she leaned closer onto Graverobber. She was soaking the heat in that his body provided.

"I take it we're saving the shower for tomorrow?"

"Mmm. . .Yeah, I'm already falling asleep."

"You sure you don't want to lay down?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine." The evidence of being tired was in her voice. Scarecely had the words made it out of her mouth, she fell asleep.

Graverobber watched her sleep, figuring it was his safest bet, until he fell asleep himself.


	10. Chapter 10

The sunlight penetrated the soft darkness even as Graverobber's eyes remained closed. Of course, in the night his and Mag's bodies moved to lying positions. When he cracked his eyes open he was facing the couch. One arm was pinned under Mag's sleeping form, the other was draped over her shoulder. Mag remained in a peaceful slumber, her head resting next to his chest. A small smile graced his lips as he took in her beauty once again. It was the first time he'd awaken in her arms and had been the only one awake. He was torn between kissing her gently, and continueing to marvel at her beauty, letting her stay in her blissful state of sleep.

His mind wandered. It was amazing to think that Blind Mag was figuratively his. If he were told that but a month prior, he would possibly laugh but more definitely insist that whoever had told him that had had too much Zydrate. Yet, there they were. He loved her, she loved him. It would've been the perfect romance if they'd lived in simpler times.

Slowly, Mag's eyes opened. She smiled when she saw Graverobber. "I fell asleep, huh?"

"That appears to be the case," his tone was jokingly sarcastic.

She sighed. "Aw, that's too bad. You were in my dreams, then. Boy, were they beautiful." Her voice held an intriguing sadness.

"Why don't you tell me about them? It might help them become reality."

"I wish that were true - I don't think it could ever happen, though."

"Tell me anyway?" He was curious, especially now that he got the vibe that the dreams were happy and how unreachable they were was why she was sad.

"Well, we kept talking, kissing, and hugging. I didn't go back to work. I stayed with you, with Marni, Nathan, and Shilo. You. . . you proposed in front of everyone. . .we were just so happy. . ."

The curiosity had been incresed. "Who are they? Marni, Nathan, and Shilo?"

Hearing all three of their names, although she had just said them, made her cry. "Marni was my best friend. Nathan was he husband, and Shilo their daughter. I was supposed to be Shilo's godmother, but Marni got sick. . .she dies and Shilo never had a chance to live. She. . .she would have been seventeen."

It was more information than Graverobber expected. He sympathized, living with that had to be hard. He held her close. He wasn't sure what to say, because he knew better than to promise everything would be alright when he knew for a definite fact that it would not. For the moment he didn't need to say anything, because Mag went on.

"I'm sorry. I - I didn't mean to say all that." Seventeen years and the painful emptiness still remained. The longer she thought on it the more she grew to hate the dream.

"You don't need to apologize, Mag. It had to come out sometime, I understand." He rubbed her back gently with his free arm. "Maybe that shower will take your mind off it." He actually wanted to feel the water of the shower running down his body. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd showered.

Slowly, she nodded. "Hopefully." She carefully raised herself off of him and got off the couch. She took his hand and pulled him up. She hugged him, just to feel loved. She felt his soft caress as he wiped her tears away and knew in that moment that her heart, in its entirety, belonged to him. This was the point of no return. Whatever he wanted, she would give. She had never loved so strongly before. Not for Marni or Nathan and she hadn't had the change to love Shilo. _Honestly_, she asked herself. _Could you have expected anything else from the man that saved you in the alley?_

Feeling herself being moved, Mag came back to hrself. Graverobber must have had a good memory of the house because he was leading her to the bathroom. When they got there he chuckled. "I can _not _believe you slept in that thing." He was unlacing her corset.

She smiled. "Well, invite yourself in," she commented.

That was when she saw Graverobber smile for what she believed to be the first time. He was smiling at _her_, because of _her_. Her enlightened mod had enlightened him. "Don't see why I can't, seeing how I have a key."

"Why do I have a feeling this is going to be one very sexual shower?"

"I don't know why you think that." He was teasing, because he knew he could now that she was in a better mood.

"You haven't kissed me today yet."

"What are you going to do about it?" He pushed her corset off and found the zipper to her dress. He slowly pulled it down.

"Well, I just might have to steal one from you."

"Oh yeah?" He pushed her dress down.

"Yeah. And while I'm at it I may just hold you prisoner." She stepped out of her dress and kicked off her shoes. She pushed her underwear down. She then began undressing Graverobber. She looked into his eyes for a brief, intense moment before their lips crashed together. She stepped into the shower. Graverobber had to remove the rest of his clothes before joining her.

When Mag turned the water on, it hit Graverobber square in the back. He took a second to adjust before trapping Mag against him. She started laughing and the joy was almost as musical as her singing. "It's going to be really interesting seeing you without makeup."

"It won't last for long. I'm going to get into yours after this."

Mag didn't care. She felt maybe she should have, but she didn't. The shower went on, the two taking turns washing each other. It was eerie how spotless Graverobber seemed to become with all the dirt from the streets washing away. "I have a question. If I were still blind, would you love me?"

"What kind of foolish question in that? Of course I would."

"Would you have saved me from that man?"

"Yes. Where is this coming from?"

"Only to confirm your love. I know you've already proved it, but knowing makes me feel good."

Graverobber didn't dare try to decipher the code that is woman. It would surely fry his brain. Besides, he couldn't blame her for slightly not trusting him. If he were in her shoes he'd be running, like any other sane person. In some ways he could be just as bad as a Repo Man.

Mag turned the water off and grabbed a towel to dry them off. As he dried himself, he could sense the ending of his soft side. He hoped Mag was smart enough to know when to run, because his control was slipping.

_ _

Later that day was when Graverobber snapped. There was no preventing what had been bound to happen, although he had tried many times to warn her. It was too late. Mag got to know his scary side quickly.

It had started out innocently enough. Graverobber pinned her to the wall and kissed her. When Mag tried to break free he didn't move. "Come on - will you please move?" Mag didn't know why he was acting like this. "I need to get food." She strugged to push herself away. She was trying to get to the kitchen. "I feel like I haven't eaten in forever!" It treaded on whining. _And being frequently pressed to a wall isn't exactly fun_, she silently added.

"Eat me." His teeth grazed her ear. He moved to her neck. He kissed it for a while. Without warning, he sunk his teeth in - a bite that any vampire would be jealoud of.

Mag continued to weakly push at his chest with no effect. He was stronger than she'd thought. He wouldn't budge the slightest. She had to admit she loved what he was doing to her. It just wasn't the right time for it. "Please!" She was practically begging.

Graverobber either mistook what she was beggin for or ignored her altogether. He pressed his teeth even deeper into her neck, drawing blood.

"Stop it!" Mag's voice held urgency. She wasn't enjoying it anymore. She was rapidly becoming fearful of him. It didn't feel good anymore. "Stop, please! You're hurting me!" She hadn't said the magic word that would earn his attention. How could she have? He hadn't thought to let her in on his hurt/harm policy.

The monster had taken control. It appeared to have a thirst for blood, not letting Mag go. Her pleas were becoming quite annoying. A growl emitted from his throat as he ripped his teeth from Mag's neck. Blood smeared across his lips, he looked the part.

Mag coulsn't stop screaming as she looked at the man that she loved. Even though he was hurting her and didn't seem to care, she still loved him. It was sickening, but it was true. She would endure whatever pain he would induce for the mere hope of feeling a gentle caress.

"Will you _shup up?!_" Graverobber smacked Mag, sending her to the floor. He kicked her, forcing her to her back. Kneeling down, he covered her mouth with his hand to muffle any sound she would try to make. "It would be a shame if you made me kill you," he cooed. With his free hand he stroked her forehead. "Wasting a pretty face like that would be awful." He bunched his hand in her hair above her forehead in a way that painfully tugged at her scalp. "I would much rather preserve it." He lifted her head off the floor only to send it back with lightning speed. It was just hard enough to make her unconscious, as he'd intended. Without her screaming interference, he could admire her beauty in peace. He laughed to himself. There was no way a Repo Man would have the change - he was going to get to her first.

Of course, his gentle side, the part of him that loved Mag, was screaming in his head against that thought. No one was going to 'get to' her. He would keep her safe.

_Heh heh_, his other self, the self that had seemed so separate before, laughed. He now literally seemed to share his body with someone else. _Just how exactly do you plan on keeping her safe from yourself?_

Graverobber ignored it. If he didn't believe he was crazy, didn't believ ehe heard what he thought he had, it would go away. He didn't have to listen to it. He would protect Mag. He was in control of his own actions. He wouldn't let the figment of his imagination fool him, because that was all it was, a figment of his imagination that was simply running haywire to represent what he was really afraid of.

Fighting wouldn't fix anything. If he let what was going to happen happen, and made sure Mag held onto her faith in him, he would be free. Free from his fear.


	11. Chapter 11

A Repo Man stood in Rotti Largo's office. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes. I have a task for you, one that holds special importance." Rotti stood, organizing his reposession papers. His next words would be difficult for him to say. He was actually enjoying his time with Mag, but she had crossed a line and she had to pay. "It is involving a GeneCo employee." He looked at the Repo Man briefly before handing him the reposession paper that was specific to the job. "I'm afraid we are about to lose our Voice."

The Repo Man took the paper. He recognized Blind Mag's picture. "Pardon my curiosity, but why does Blind Mag have a reposession over her head?"

"She has crossed GeneCo. Find her and gouge those digital corneas of hers out of her skull. do anything else to her that it takes to get those eyes. Make it hurt." Rotti wasn't sure which woman gave him more grief, Marni or ag. They were both sinister and they had both used him. If he hadn't known any better, he would've said they'd plotted the tormet they brought him. "What are you waiting for?" he impatiently demanded. "Go!" he shouted.

The Repo Man didn't need to be told twice. He left the office. He generally felt indifferent about his target. He hoped to get high pay from the job, since it had been established that it held special importance.

_ _

It was the day after when Mag regained her consciousness. She didn't know why she was on the floor. When she felt a burning pain in her neck and when she let her hand fly up to feel the bite mark, memories came flooding back. Graverobber had turned into something, someone horrible. It wasn't him, she knew he couldn't have been aware of what he'd been doing. Out of routine, she felt she had to confront him about something, but in all actuality she had already forgave him.

She shook him awake on the couch. "You bit me!" She yelled. "You _bit _me! What the hell is wrong with you? What were you thinking?" She knew he was going to apologize and then everything between them would be fine. That was the beauty of denial.

Graverobber stood and hugged her. "It was an accident." He kissed her and his tune changed. He was the different person again. He pushed her to the floor, landing on top of her, nearly knocking the wind out of her. "What's the matter?" he growled. "Can't a slut like you handle reality?"

Mag realized she had been wrong about him. She had given him too many chances. He was blowing them, and her feelings refused to change. She stillloved him, but now her mind was starting to come back to her. She understood she was better off without him. She couldn't stop the tears from coming to her eyes. Denying that the name hurt he would have been a lie. It did hurt.

"I'm sorry." Back to himself again. "I hadn't meant to say that." Like the flip of a switch, he was once again the monster. He picked her up and threw her back onto the floor. "I love you." He kissed her. "I love you so much." He kicked her repeatitively. "You know I love you, right?" He slapped her.

Mag hurt all over. She was confused. This was not the Graverobber she knew, and yet somehow it was. Tears streaked down her cheeks and she honestly thought she was going to throw up blood. She wasn't sure how much internal damage he was causing, but she could sure feel it. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to hate him so she would make him leave and never see him again. She couldn't hate him, though. She also couldn't bear the thought of not seeing Graverobber again. For an extremely twisted reason, she needed him. She couldn't fathom why, she just recognized the need. That was even more confusing. "Why are you doing this to me?" Everything would have been so much easier if he hadn't changed suddenly. He would surely be the death of her. Mag realized she didn't want to know. Then she realized something else. When they'd had sex, he hadn't used a condom. She pushed away from him and made it to her feet. "On second thought, I don't want to know!"

Running out of her house, Mag decided to go to the store. Her heart thudded in her chest at the thought that she might be pregnant. She didn't want to be pregnant. Graverobber wouldn't be a fitting father, Mag knew. Besides, with the world they lived in, the child would probably kill itself to be free of the pain. Mag still felt like she was going to throw up, and if she did, it would be a sign of morning sickness.

She had to know. She didn't want to punish an innocent child by bringing it into the awful world. She avoided the strange looks she got as she entered the store. She was there for one thing only, a pregnancy test stick. It was simply, the instructions on the box were plain. All you had to do was pee on the provided stick and wait. If a red plus showed up, you were pregnant. If it was a blue negative, you weren't. As Mag stood in line she prayed and prayed to see the blue negative when she took the test.

Running to and from the store had seemed like a blur, but that was probably due to the tears that were still in Mag's eyes. She hid the box so Graverobber wouldn't see in when she returned. She didn't want him to know unless he had to, and he only had to know if she saw a little red plus.

When Mag got back to the house she didn't see Graverobber and she didn't care. She headed straight for the bathroom. She hastily and shakily tore the box open. She was glad she had gotten her impulsive thought when she hag, when when it wouldn't be too late to do something. She quickly peed on the stick and sat it on the edge of the sink, waiting.

That was when Graverobber barged in and pulled her out of the bathroom. He seemed slightly crazed, but like his usual self. Mag felt a rush of relief. She wouldn't question him about anything anymore. She would simply enjoy their good moments until the bad ones started again. It was the only way they could work, and they had to work.

When Graverobber wrapped his arms around her and asked, "Where were you?" Mag knew he was worried. "I thought I'd scared you away. I didn't think you'd come back."

"Well, I would've had to come back some time. This is my house, remember?" She felt her stomach clamp up and nearly fell onto Graverobber. Pain was written clearly on her face.

"Mag, are you alright?" The worry was evident in his voice. He hadn't seen her do that before.

Forcing herself to breathe, she replied, "I - I need to eat." How long had it been since she'd eated? Two days? Three? More? Whatever she was feeling felt ten thousand times worse than usual menstrual cramps, which sucked on their own.

"Okay, we'll get you something to eat." Graverobber led her to the kitchen and got her to a chair. He hoped she wasn't just using hunger as a cover up for something more serious. He couldn't lose her. It would be the end of him, whether it be by his hand or otherwise. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bowl of fruit that was conviniently sitting on one of the shelves. He took it to the table he'd sat Mag at and watched in awe as she nearly devoured all of its contents. He had never seen anyone eat so fast. "Are you okay now?"

"Not really," Mag answered while standing. She threw her arms around him. "But I'm never going to be okay. I'm going to suck it up and take the lemons life gives me."

"You've changed." Graverobber stated. "Something about you is different. You're not the same woman I fell in love with." He wasn't sure if he liked that.

"You aren't the same man I fell in love with either!" Mag was takeing defense. She just decided to let him have it. She was upset and angry. It wouldn't hurt him to apologize one more time. She had just said she would take the lemons that life gave her, and he'd just given her one with the permission to rant. "I don't know how I could ever have trusted you! You're abusive! You beat me and told me you love me while doing so! Don't you think that's going to leave some deep, mental scars? Why did you save me from that rapist? Were you on a mission to prove you could get close to me and hurt me even worse than him - was that is? Or maybe you're in on some kind of sick plan with Rotti, even better! You are evil! You used me so many times, and I didn't seeit. All you had to do was say you were sorry and the problem was fixed. Well, you're out of apologies, mister! What you have done to me can't be fixed! You have mistreated me - just like everyone else, so you can go die! I wouldn't even care if you died, right now. Why should I? You obviously don't care about me. If you cared you wouldn't abuse me. If you loved me you would treat me right _after_ sex, not just before. You are the typical, awful man, and I wish I'd never met you!"

She started a furious walk out of the kitchen but hadn't gotten very far when Graverobber grabbed her by the leg. He pulled and suddenly Mag was on the floor. Her words had hurt him and he'd lost what little control his worry had gained him. He wished he could explain the battle going on within him. Mag let out a cry.

Graverobber yanked her to her feet. "Didn't your parents teach you to respect people?" His patronizing tone was against her ear.

"You're not a person - you're a monster!" Mag kicked him.

Graverobber's hand connected to her face hard enough for Mag's nose to bleed. Then he used his fists. He punched her chest multiple times which made her double over in pain.

Mag's mind kept screaming _get away! Get away! _ She tried running away from him. She succeeded. When she got outside she continued running. She ran until she tripped and fell. In her pain and agony, she did cough blood onto the pavement.


	12. Chapter 12

Mag felt someone take her hand. She felt herself being raised to her feet and heard a voice ask, "Can I have your autograph?" She turned to see who the person was. It was a Repo Man. She screamed, knowing she couldn't put up much of a fight. She had fought too hard with Graverobber and now felt very weak. She almost wanted to be put out of her misery.

The Repo Man was quick to shove a knife into her stomach and pushed her to the ground. That had been easier than he'd thought. It was almost disappointing.

Mag lay on the gorund, trying to breathe as the Repo Man crouched next to her. She could feel the blood leaving her body. She was dying, she could feel it. She could also feel Marni reaching out to her, calling her, wanting to be reunited. Mag wanted it, too. Curiosity is what made her cling on to her fading life. She heard approaching footsteps. Then she saw the Repo Man fall to the ground.

Graverobber had kicked him on the head. He knew he wouldn't stay down for long. He looked at Mag and his heart could have shattered. "Don't leave me," he begged. Seeing that she was dying gave him strength to fight.

"C-C-Careful." It was obvious Mag didn't have much strength left to talk. She was trying to warn him. "He - He's got a knife."

Graverobber wanted to stroke her cheek gently, to kiss her, tell her to save her strength, but he couldn't. The Repo Man was getting up. Thanks to Mag's tip, Graverobber saw the knife and slipped it out of the Repo Man's hand. It seemed her had the upper hand.

The Repo Man tackled Graverobber. Graverobber struggled underneath the weight. He was going to be tough to fight off. Could he do it in time? Of course he could. Mag was going to live. He would save her, just as he had from the rapist. He would make sure she got home and then he'd leave so he never harmed her again. He knew he'd been harming her the entire time now, and the guild added to his strength. He kicked and shoved at the Repo Man. He threw hard punches his way. "You'd better not kill the woman I love!" Then he remembered he still had the knife in his hand. He stabbed the Repo Man in the back and heaved him off of him. That would keep him down.

He made his way over to Mag. She was losing a lot of blood. As much as he hated to admit it, the chance of her living looked slim to none. He took her hand.

"I'm sorry," Mag croaked out. She was _dying _ and she was apologizing. "I didn't mean what I said."

"Sh. I know." He was choking up. For the first time in a long time he thought he might actually cry. There was no mistaking she was worth his tears, thoguh. He squeezed her hand.

"Marni's calling me."

Marni. Her dead friend. "No, Mag. You will live!" He shrugged his jacket off and pressed it to Mag's wound, trying to staunch the flow. He caught Mag's eyes. They seemed to smile at him sadly. After all he'd done, he still saw love in her eyes.

Mag began to laugh weakly. Graverobber wondered how the hell she could be laughing. What was so funny? She weakly raised her hand into view. "Look. It healed." The irony was almost too bittersweet and agonizing to take.

The first actual tear trickled out Graverobber's eyes. It splashed onto their connected hands. He could feel her temperatire dropping, feel her weakening. He didn't want her to go.

"Don't c-cry over m-me." Mag weakly brushed her fingertips across his cheek, an attempt at comfort.

"Please, don't go." His voice was vulnerable, breakable. For the first time he showed weakness.

"I must go." For some reason, she'd sang it. Maybe for him to hear her beautiful singing voice one last time.

"Wait! Hold on just a minute longer." Her hand was already slipping from its grasp. Mag had to fight to curl her fingers around his hand for but a minute more. She was close to death, she couldn't stall much longer. She thought she could see Marni. "I know you said names don't matter a while back, but you should know mine - "

"Wait."

"What?" He wondered what was important enough for Mag to interrupt him in her dying state.

"Before you tell - kiss my goodbye." The request clenched at his heart. There was no hope of denying her death now. He swiped at his tears. He wanted to have clear vision while she left. He bent down and planted a gentle kiss. It was slow, loving, and passionate. He was careful not to let it go on too long. He didn't want it to use up the rest of what little enrgy she had left.

"My name is Terrance."

"Magdalene DeFoe." Her true name was uttered in her last breath.

Graverobber sobbed openly. The only woman he'd ever loved was dead. He let her cold hand slip from his grasp. He looked into her lifeless eyes, which honestly didn't look too different in death from how they'd looked in life. He didn't know whether to close her eyelids and let her rest in peace or carve the eyes out of their sockets and take them with him. Of course, without Mag, the eyes would serve no purpose. The eyes had been GeneCo's property. She had not.

He ended up simply closing her eyelids. He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I love you," he whispered. He abandoned his jacket. What good would it be to him, covered in Mag's blood?

As he stood, he couldn't help but think she merely looked asleep. The way she'd been when he'd slipped out of her arms and left her in the alley. He was attacked by another pang of guilt and instantly regretted each second he spent away from her.

He could have killed himself in anger for wondering how much Zydrate she had. He wouldn't allow himself to think like that. That was one body he would not disturb. Whatever Zydrate she held, it would remain hers forever.

Graverobber returned to his alley with nowhere else to go.

_ _

Amber headed to the usual alley. She couldn't wait to see the expression on Graverobber's face when she told him the news. It took serious strength for her not to skip through the alley and alert him of her presence (and excitement) early.

He'd spotted her anyway. "Amber, I'm out of Zydrate." His voice was sullen.

"That's not why I'm here, baby."

"I'm not in the mood, Amber."

"Well, what I'm about to tell you will get you in the mood. GeneCo lost its Voice. That has-been soprano is gone. Daddy washed our hands of her."

"I know, Amber."

"Then why aren't you celebrating? There's plenty to be happy about!"

Graverobber's voice took a sinister turn. "Amber, I suggest if you have any value for your life at all, that you leave my sight. If not I may very well kill you, with little temptation."

"What's wrong, baby?" Amber was oblivious. "Can't handle talk of a little death?"

"I am warning you!" Graverobber's voice rose. The seconds on Amber's life timeline were ticking away fast.

Amber walked up to him. She took his hand. "Come on. Take me! Give it to me, baby. Don't care where you put it. Why don't you surprise me?" She rubbed against him as she spoke.

He would surprise her, alright. He crashed an empty wine bottle he'd found in his dumpster bed against her head. She fell to the gorund. He used the shards as blades. He enjoyed slicing her skin open. He had been serious about killing her. It wasn't his fault she thought he'd been joking. "I'm not your baby," he muttered.

The blood rushing onto his hands was a glorious feeling. The silence was beautiful. If Amber had still been conscious, her screaming would have ruined the fun. Although he would have liked to completely dismember her body, he had to keep her in one piece. He savored every slow cut. He chekced Amber's pulse. Finding one still there, he constricted his hands around her throat. He strangled her until he felt the pulse die.

Amber Sweet was officially dead, good. By his own hand - even beter. The only thing left to do was hide the body. He knew exactly what he was going to do. He drug her out very carefully to the cemetary. He let her body lay in the grass as he dug at a fresh burial with his hands.

Once he'd unearthed the grave, he pushed Amber's body in. He carefully refilled the hole and made it appear to have been undisturbed. The only problem was he still literally had Amber's blood on his hands. It would have to be washed.

Graverobber dreaded the thought of returning to Mag's home, but in order to wash his hands of Amber's blood, it needed to be done. His feet drug along as he trudged back to her house. It took twice as long getting there because of it.

When he was inside he avoided looking at anything for too long to prevent stirring memories. He hurried himself to the bathroom. He frantically scrubbed at his hands, needing to be completely rid of Amber, especially in Mag's house. A part of him still couldn't believe she died, although he had witnessed it.

His hands free of blood, Graverobber dried them on a hand towel. He looked at his reflection in the mirror in front of him. Then something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. He looked down to the left.

There, on the edge of the sink, he saw the pregnancy stick. Glowing at him was a little red plus.


End file.
